Improvement in gun-gleaning brushes



a. Lawn; GUN-CLEANING BRUSH.

Patented Mayl, 1877.

"Bn NL. BUDD, o F IFQAIitFIELD, CONNECTICUT.

tlmevme in fGUN-CLEANINS-"BRUSHES.

Specification formingfpart of Letters PatentNoQ I 90,123, l ..March 19, 187 7..

1'0 all whom t't mayco'nccrnfi V I Beit known that emm L. MD, the townand county of .Fai'rfield, in the-State of mandrel, shank, or other devicefand so arranged as toproduce a valuable cleaning implement, whioh,as we=shall see, may be usedfor several purposes.

To manufacture this implement, I proceed as follows: I first take sheet metal of about one-tenth of an inch, in thickness, and from this, withga suitable punch and 'die,I make ,disks or washersof: five-tenths of an inch indi ametenand having acentral hole of about five twentieths of an inchin diameter. This disk or washer may be seen in Figurel. l The punching ,ofithese disks from theshe'et metal causes themtogbe somewhat distorted ,in shape. Iamconseqhehtly obliged after punching out, to place; them in another die,

and flatten and-true them up. [then,in a

ltmechine which Ihaveadevised andconstructed for the purpose, drill in the periphery of these disks anynumberof holes which may bedesired, l I-,hav'el -found thatfto make :an imple Imentforcleaninggnns,thenumber-maybefrom twelve to twenty. Ina disk-for a gun of No. 121

gage I ordinarily drill eighteen holes.- 'Ihese holes aredrilled all the way :through, from the periphery of the disk toward theicenter, We l have, asa consequence, then, these holes meet- .ing before they reach the circumference of the larger central hole running through the disk, and, ass. matter of course, after these'holes are; all drilled, we ,find,]@upon examining thecircumference of. the central. hole, that, instead of there being eighteen distinct and well-defined holes,=the holes have run together, and

have inlieu of these holes a groove running aroundthe circumference of this central hole: This groove, we shall presently see, becomes of use. l a t a mandrel, pin,-or shank.

. ,wood and hardru-bber.

2 gives a vieWOf this disk perforated on its periphery in the way I have described. V

Fig. .3 gives a section of the; dish-that is to say, ,Wjith one surface removed-and shows how,;, the holes run together .and form the groove. The holes, as willbe seen in Fig.

4, meet at about the point-marked a, and from that point out to the edge of central hole is the groove of whichl have spoken.

After preparing these disks inthe manner *Iha've named, I now, by theordina'ry method in brdshqnaking, draw into the small holes on the periphery ofthese disks, with fine wire, knots of bristles,hair,;tampico, wire, or such other substance as I may desire to'have the brush made from. fiThB use of the groove we have before spoken of is now seen. The wire :withcwhichthe knots areidrawn iscontinuous, commencing with the first. and finishing with the last knot. This groove serves for the 'wir'e to-lie in, as we pass from one knot to another,and when all the holesin the disk are filled the wire is, so to speak, hidden, or rather it is sunken so. far, or far enough, -below the surface of the circumference of the. central hole that it ofie'rsno impediment to theintroduction of Fig. 5 shows one of these disks as it looks ;after leaving the'hands .of theoperator, who draws the knots into the peripheral holes, the

knots of bristles being of irregular lengths. 'I-at first made. the disks of brass, but of late 1 have found that a softer alloy, such as Bri- I tannia or .pewter, presents decided advam tages'. First, it drills easier; next, in-draw- .ing :the knots, being softer than brass, the

brass wire used indrawing in the knots is not .cut or broken, as it sometimes is when the disks are made of brass; and, finally, being a softer and more yieldingmetal, a number of them,-when piled one upon another, will clamp together ;:more firmly than a harder metal 61' alloy. 1" have made the disks alsoof Wood will not admit of wetting the brush, which it is sometimes desirable todo; rubberadmits of this, but is not; so durable or satisfactory in other respect's as the alloy I-have spoken of.

After, these disks are filled with the knots the; are next'taken to a machine which I have devised and constructed for cutting the bris- PATENT" O F E- dated Ma 1 77; application filed a ties to a uniform length. This is accomplished by placing the disk upon an adjustable gage, which moves in or out toward or away from the cutting-edges of a peculiarly-' constructed pair of shears, so that the length of the bristles, and consequently the diameter of the brush, may be any size, from atritie larger than the disk up to three, four, or more inches in diameter, which is, of course, much larger than anything which would be needed for a rifle or shot-gun.

Fig. 6 shows one of the disks filled wit knots and trimmed to a uniform length. After and held by suitable devices, acting from the ends of the mandrel toward its-center. To

this end I havev preferred to form, upon' one.

end of the mandrel, a head, which may be slotted to receive the blade of a screw-driver,

' or squared or otherwise altered in shape so as to fit into a wrench, in order to be held steady while a nut, toward the other end, working upon screw-threads there formed, is adjusted toward, or away from, the pile of disks. By loosening the .nut these sections may be turned to change their relation to each other,

bring the knots in all the disks in line, if desired, or adjust the knots contained in one disk just midway between the knots contained in the adjoining one, and thus, so to speak, change the character of the brush. By these means more uniform wear is insured. By tightening the nut, the disks are clamped and held permanently in position, and by removing it entirely they may be removed and replaced in difl'erent order, or others substituted in their stead;

Fig. 7 gives a sectional view of the implement composed of twelve disks, arranged upon a mandrel, with washers at both ends, and with the-adjusting-nut,as described. It will be seen that when the nut is screwed up to its place it leaves a length of screw protruding sufiicient to screw into the ebony handle, as seen in Fig. 8. When screwed into this handle it becomes what I call the sportsmans breech-brush, and. is an exceedingly usei'lil'implement for brushing out and cleaning out the recess in the breech of abreechloading piece made to receive the cartridgeshell.

Fig. 9 shows the brush screwed onto the joint of cleaning-rod, in which it may be used either wet or dry, to clean out 'the interior of the barrels.

In Fig. 10 we have the disks arranged on a difl'erent kind ofmandrel, which is composed of a male and female screw meeting in the center, the female screw being perforated in the direction of its length to receive a cord. Now if this cord be a little longer than the length of the barrels, and to the other end a weight be attached, and then if the weight be dropped through the barrel, and traction made on the cord, the effect will be to draw the brush implement through the barrel, and thus to clean it. The implement then becomes exceedingly valuable to the sportsman for use in the field.

In Fig. 11 we have a perspective view of the implement ready to be screwed into the handle, and used as a breech-brush or into the ordinary gun-cleaning rod, as an implement for cleaning the barrels.

Another use to which the implement may be profitably put is by screwing it either into the short handle or onto one of the joints of the cleaning rod, and employing it for cleanin g the interior of cartridge-shells, either pa per or metallic. These shells not unfrequently become foul from frequent firing, and may, with this implement, be readily cleaned before reloading them. The residuum in a foul shell,

resulting from the combustion of the powder, the sulpheret of potassium being a hygroscopic substance, not unfrequently, especially in sea-shootin g, becomes moist and muddy. Particularly is this the case in instances 1 where inferior powder is used. The implement here'becomes valuable, insomuch that it can be used withwater, and by its aid the shells thoroughly cleaned.

I have modified the implement in another way, and have thus been enabled to furnish an implement which will answer all the purposes I have claimed for this at a reduced price.

The modification is efi'ected by alternating 1 with each brush-disk a disk of felt of the same diameter as the brush-disk. I prepare the felt about the tenth of an inch in thickness and very hard; then with suitable cutters cut out the disks with a central hole for the pin. Thus with six brush-disks and six felt disks we make an implement the same length as if made of all brush-disks.

i Fig. 12 gives a view of the implement alternating the brush-disks with disks of felt.

I It will thus be seen that this implement is valuable in its various modifications, and in the various uses to which it may be applied.

The metallic disks made to receive the knots, instead of having the central perforationfor the pin or mandrel round may have it square, triangular, or of any number of sides, and be set upon a mandrelof corresponding shape, being removed for each .adjustment but in such case the number of adjustments and of combinations formed is necessarily more limited than where the central perforation is circular, and the mandrel also circular, so that the disks may be turned freely thereupon.f

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a'gun-cleaning implement, the combi- 3 nation of a series of, disksprovided with pestantiallyas described.

- 3. In a gun-'cleaningimplement, the combination of a series of disks provided with pe-V -ripheral knots with a mandrel and suitable clamping devices, substantially as described.

. 2. Ina gun-eleaning implement, thecombinationof a series of disksprovided with'knots alternating withdisks of thin hard felt with a mandrel and suitable clamping devices, subripheral knots, with a mandrel adapted to be secured to a suitable holder and with clampin g devices, whereby the disks may be clamped and heldin any desired adjustment in relation to each other, substantially as and for {the purpose described;

4. In a gun-eleaning implement, the combination of a series of disks having peripheral knots with a mandrel headed at one end,- and adapted to be held against rotation and at the other having a thumb-nut, whereby the disks may be clamped in position, the said mandrel terminating in a screw suitable for adjustment in ahandle, or in one of the joints of the ordinary gun-cleaning rod, or perforated to receive a cord, substantially as and for the purpose described. V

V BERN L. Benn. Witnesses:

r T. O. BRIGHT, Sum. GLOVEE; 

